On May 15, 2012, a federal district court judge for the District of Columbia
struck down recent changes to the National Labor Relations Board’s
representation election procedures, which were intended to streamline the
Board’s representation election process. In response, the Board has halted
implementation of these changes, which took effect on April 30, 2012. The court
struck down the rules because it determined Republican Board Member Brian Hayes,
who had dissented from the Board’s earlier resolution to adopt the new
procedures, did not participate in the final vote to approve the election rules.
Because only Board Chairman Mark Pearce and then-Member Craig Becker
participated in the final vote, the court found that the Board lacked the
three-member quorum required for the Board to act, and blocked the Board from
continuing to implement the new rules.

For those in the management community, this ruling may be seen as a victory.
The rules have been the subject of criticism for adding unnecessary uncertainty
to the election process by deferring important questions regarding voter
eligibility and unit determinations until after an election, as well as
unreasonably shortening the time from the filing of a petition to the time an
election is held. However, the final fate of the new election procedures remains
uncertain. The Board has issued a statement that it is reviewing the court’s
decision, and is “determined to move forward,” although it did not offer a more
specific response. We will continue to monitor this situation, and address
noteworthy updates in our forthcoming NLRB Roundup summarizing this and other
important developments involving the NLRB.